Statement

​

​

 

Over the years, my work has come to focus on a contemplative practice allied with the urgency of environmental needs. Phenomenology and nature; how we relate to the natural world with our senses, what emotions they provoke. Texture, colour, tone, rhythm, patterns, shapes; feelings of calm, belong, home. Different scales, perspectives of observation: the astonishing variety of nature. Natural materials have the appropriate smoothness, fluidity and delicacy for representing nature's essence - connecting to our bodily senses and to Earth itself.

 

I seek to create with meaning, allowing an emotional appeal that connects people with nature, inspiring for behavioural change and a wiser use of environmental resources, for generations to come.

Biography

​

 

I grew up surrounded by the tranquillity of Ria Formosa landscapes in southern Portugal, which have inspired me ever since. I studied Product Design in ESAD (Matosinhos, PT), and at 23 I started my PhD in Public Space and Urban Regeneration in the University of Barcelona, where I experienced working across disciplines in a daily immersion of four languages, learning from different cultures in its international environment. Since the beginning of my career, I maintained a balance between multiple practices – writing, drawing, painting, design; academic research and teaching.

I was a Researcher at the University of Barcelona, and a Professor at the Master degree in Art & Design for Public Space at the University of Porto. I am the author of several scientific articles on culture and urban regeneration; with Isabel Carvalho and Pedro Nora, we edited the book The Economy of the Artist, published by Braço de Ferro in 2010. My work has been exhibited in Paris, Antwerp, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Porto, Azores, Copenhagen and the US. I was awarded the 3rd prize in Urban Furniture by the Antwerp City Council & Havenhuis (co-author) and the 2nd prize in National Illustration by the Matosinhos City Council.

 

Throughout the years, my artistic and research work has been supported by Mind & Life Institute, Portuguese Ministry of Culture, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Rectory of the University of Porto, Foundation for Science and Technology, and Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. My artworks can be found in private collections across Europe.

 

After living in Antwerp and then Barcelona for many years, I now have my studio in Algarve, Portugal.

Selected Exhibitions

​

CURRENT EXHIBITION - GROUP

2021 Nature Inspired. Through Objects. PT/Online

​

PAST EXHIBITIONS

SOLO

2021 Undeniable. PT/Online

2021 Between the Sea and the Shore. Pop Up Gallery. Faro. PT

2020 Inhabit the Body, Live the Place. PT/Online

GROUP

2021 Pigments Revealed. USA/Online

2021 The Mind, the Human-Earth Connection, and the Climate Crisis. USA/Online

2020/21 Crafted & Curated. Through Objects. Copenhagen, DK/Online

2013​ Nas Margens. Barcelona. ES*

2011​ Nas Margens. Almada City Museum. PT*

2008​ Pontevedra Cultural Centre. ES

2003​ Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Paris. FR**

2003​ Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Barcelona. ES **

2003​ Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Madrid. ES**

2003​ Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Lisbon. PT**

2003​ Voyager 03, ExperimentaDesign Biennale. Azores. PT**

2001 XI Illustration and Comics International Exhibition. Porto. PT

2000 Urban Design Collective. Lisbon. PT

2000 Mail Art. Artes em Partes, Porto. PT

2000 Urban design collective. Lisbon. PT

2000 Objectos En/Inviáveis. Caldeira 213, Porto. PT

1999​ Matosinhos City Council, Matosinhos. PT

1999​  Havenhuis, Antwerp. BE***

*as part of CRPolis, University of Barcelona | **coauthor, w/ S’A architects | *** coauthor

​

AWARDS

1999​​ 3rd Prize (co-author), Urban Furniture Award, Antwerp Port Entity and Antwerp City Council. BE

1999 2nd Prize, National Illustration Award, ​​Matosinhos City Council. PT

 

GRANTS

2021​ Mind & Life Institute. US

2020​ Ministry of Culture. PT

2009/13​ Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT). PT

2011​​ University of Barcelona. ES

2009 ​​Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (w/Braço de Ferro). PT

2009 ​​University of Porto (w/Braço de Ferro). PT

2000/03 ​Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. ES

1999/00​ Portuguese Design Centre. PT

​

PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS

2020 Odyssey (poetry)

2019 Sixty Days of Dawn (poetry)

2009 The Economy of the Artist. Porto: Braço de Ferro (Editor, w/ Nora, P. and Carvalho, I.)

FEATURES

2021 Oceanica. UNESCO Chair Ocean’s Cultural Heritage, NOVA University, Lisbon, PT (cover)

BOOK CHAPTERS & SCIENTIFIC PAPERS

2020 Artists & Climate Change. New York: The Artic Circle (online)

2015 AACA Digital - Asociación Aragonesa de Críticos de Arte. Zaragoza, Spain (scientific paper)

2015 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (scientific paper)

2009 Archaeology of the urban. Fine Arts Faculty of Porto University, Portugal (book chapter)

2014 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (w/Brandão, A; Castillo, M; Padilla, S.; Pinto, A; Salas, X; Sasa, Z.) (scientific paper)

2011 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (scientific paper)

2011 A Rua de Todos. Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Spain (scientific paper)

2011 VI CIPED, International Congress in Design Research. Architecture Faculty, University of Lisbon
, Portugal (scientific paper)

2009 On the Waterfront. University of Barcelona, Spain (scientific paper)

2005 Arq./a, Revista de arquitetura e arte, Lisbon (article)

2000 Public space and Interdisciplinarity. Lisbon: Portuguese Design Centre (book chapter)

​

CONFERENCES, TALKS

2021 Art & Sustainability. Open Studios Faro at HB3, Faro. PT

2011 The City is ours... of all of us. IST Architecture Faculty/Institut pour la ville en mouvement​, at MUDE, Lisbon. PT

2011 VI CIPED, International Congress in Design Research. IST Architecture Faculty, at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon. PT

2010 City Communication Seminar. Fine Arts Faculty, University of Barcelona. ES

2009 Polis Seminar. Fine Arts Faculty, University of Barcelona. ES

2008 Professional Practice Seminar. Fine Arts Faculty, University of Porto. PT

​

TEACHING & RESEARCH

2009/14​ University of Barcelona. ES | Researcher at CRPolis, Art, City, Sustainability, Faculty of Fine Arts

2007/08 ​University of Porto. PT| Invited Assistant Professor (Project), Master in Art & Design in Public Space, Faculty of Fine Arts

​

EDUCATION

2014 PhD in Public Space and Urban Regeneration, University of Barcelona. ES

2000  Post Graduation in Urban Design, Portuguese Design Centre. PT

1999 Product Design Degree, ESAD. PT

​